Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Outlaw Abortion and may the punishment fit the crime!

Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence was on Chris Matthews' "Hardball" last night. Matthews a practicing Catholic who says he personally agrees with the Church's pro-life position, but is pro-choice for others really shows the morally flawed and intellectually corrupt mentality of the pro-choice movement in this country which has attracted such a vast following even amongst Catholics.

Matthews wanted to know from the bishop what laws Representative Robert Kennedy should enact in congress since the bishop was telling the representative that he could not be pro-choice. The bishop rightfully said that was not his area of expertise, but thought the punishment should fit the crime.

What Matthews was pushing the bishop to say is what kind of punishment should a woman receive for having an abortion if the Church had its way and abortion was outlawed. I wonder if Matthews would ask the bishop what type of punishment one should receive for speeding, for possessing marijuana, being a john for a prostitute, being a prostitute, beating your child, robing a bank, killing a dog, killing a whale, littering the highway, jay walking, driving drunk, driving with no license, vehicular homicide, involuntary manslaughter. The list could go infinitely.

The point I'm making is that Catholic bishops should rightly condemn Catholic politicians who are pro-choice and yes place sanctions against them. They should even encourage Catholic politicians to enact laws to outlaw abortion. But Catholic bishops don't write the laws and what punishment should be given for breaking the law. That's not within the jurisdiction of the bishop.

My own opinion is that abortion should be illegal. If you break the law there should be some form of punishment that takes into account the situation. What that is, I'm not going to legislate, it could be a fine, it could be community service, it could be prison time. It all depends on the number of times the law was broken,age of the person, etc.

The harshest penalty should be for the provider, the abortionist. What that should be I can't legislate, but prison time sounds fair. We treat the one who possesses marijuana different from the dealer. But laws vary from state to state.

It's not too much to ask Chris Matthews and others of his ilk to be logical and fair. But when it comes to abortion, common sense, logic and sound moral judgments go out the window for the pro-choice camp.

2 comments:

Your point about punishing the providers is well-taken. If those who have abortions are punished, I think the stress of their situation can be a mitigating factor. However, physicians should know better and they should be severely punished should our nation ever recover its moral compass.

Of course, there are many "choice" advocates who will argue that this would drive those women most determined to have abortions into having "coat hanger" abortions, which is nonsense. When abortion was illegal, the vast majority of illegal abortions were still performed by physicians and in surgical facilities. Many of these physicians simply skirted the law by listing the procedures as "D & C" treatments. Few doctors, however, were willing to do this, since it meant risking their license as well as the possibility of prison.

I once saw a catch-phrase that is really to the point:"Abortion should not only be illegal, it should be unthinkable".That pretty much sums it up.Folks, so many well intentioned pro-choice people are so sadly misguided. And yet it really doesn't quite seem quite right, in my humble opinion, to see fellow pro-lifers express what comes across as maliciousness toward those who are pro-choice. It merely serves to protray pro-lifers as self rightous hateful people. Once abortion is again illegal, then supporting strictest punishment upon the providers seems appropriate, but until then, talking about how we can effect their enlightenment seems more charitable.Hey, if I'm off the mark then feel free to let me know.

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”The views expressed on this
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I am a priest of the Diocese of Savannah ordained in 1980 at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist. I am currently the pastor of Saint Anne Church in Richmond Hill, Georgia. I am the former Director of Vocations from 1986 to 1998 and former Director of Liturgy and Diocesan Master of Ceremonies from 1985 to 1991.